Page 66 of Seduce & Destroy

When I cracked the door open, I was hit with the warmth of the residual fire along with the sweet scent of lavender and lemongrass that was uniquely hers. Sorren hadn’t said how long he’d been tampering with her prescription, but I only had a finite amount of time before she got too sick. In the darkness, I took this opportunity to look for her migraine pills that I had failed to find in our shared bathroom.

Laney let out a melodic groan as she turned in her sleep to face me, likely sensing my presence in her space. I admired her briefly, so calm and peaceful in her dreams, until I noticed a small cardboard box sticking out from under her pillow.

A-ha.

I needed to get those pills away from her, but her intoxicating smell lured me into her bed. Warmth radiated from her, and it took everything in me to not collapse in her bed to snuggle in her body. I didn’t want to disturb her as I slipped beneath her sheets. Maybe, if we cuddled, which I was dying to do anyway, I could reach the medication and dispose of it tomorrow morning.

But the moment she felt the shift of the sheets, she shot up in her bed. When she saw it was me, no fear appeared in her widening eyes, just a wariness. She let out a long exhale, face glistening with a clear sheen as if she’d been crying, before turning on me. She looked as exhausted as me.

“You can’t be here.” She yelled in a lower register.

“Hasn’t stopped me before.” I said, as I continued my descent into her warming bed and laid down beside her. So close, yet not close enough. It was cosy and reminded me of the recent past. Things seemed so easy then.

“Well, I don’t want you here.”

“We both know that’s a lie. I came t—”

“Things have changed since then, Kenna. The magnitude of your invasion…I didn’t even consider it, everything is not as it seems. You have to leave.”

“I can’t.” I grinded my teeth together and outstretched an arm to lower her back onto the mattress, eyes fixed on her. “See, Laney, your little ramblings and affections are cemented in my fucking head. And you won’t leave it! So, I’m not going to leave you either.”

“Oh, you unilaterally decided that.” She said, but my extended arm almost reached the box of pills. I could feel it, but not quite grip it. “You’re a fool if you think this is a choice. There are bigger things at play here.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I’m a ploy, Laney, in this big fucking charade. My whole life led me here–” I stumbled for words, as I withdrew my arm, box in hand. “Please just listen to me. Forget this, forget us. Listen.”

She pushed her shoulders back, watching me intently. That was my move.

“You knew about Dylan?”

“I knew,” I continued, her face morphed to tearful panic, “Laney, you have to live with that.”

She nodded, a dark expression appearing on her face and her eyelids shut. “You know.”

“Yes, I know, it’s okay.” I cupped my hand on her cheek. Shame was the last thing I associated with her, or us. “This. This life…we all make choices, it’s best not to hide from them, just face them. Especially now.” Tilting her face so that her eyes were on me, focused, I said, “Dylan has a brother. He is also here, his name is Sorren. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he wants revenge. Foremost on you.”

It was like she was a deer in headlights. I was almost certain this mafia lifestyle had never reared its ugly head to look her directly in the face. Until now. I tried my best to not envy that. It wasn’t her choice. But now I saw her loneliness mirrored back in my eyes. She has been deeply marked by it. I didn’t know.

Then, her eyes glanced down, and colour flooded her cheeks. “Why have you got that?”

From any other angle this looked suspicious. “These were tampered with.”

“Oh my god, you are the one who has been making me sick!”

“No, no. I didn’t do this.” I shot my arms out in a motion to get her to calm down, but it just made her explode.

“Yes, you did! You’ve been making me sick from the beginning, everything changed since you arrived, and I thought it was fragrance.” She spat. “I’m so stupid to not see it before. Of course it was you, it’s drugs.”

My features hardened. I needed her to know the truth. “It was Sorren, not me, you have to believe me.”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore. All this, I thought you just liked me.” Her eyes closed. “There’s always a purpose.”

“Princess,” I dropped my hands, “I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. Cross my heart.”

“I don’t believe you.” She whimpered and it punctured my heart a little bit.

“You have to trust me. Keep one eye over your shoulder and your knives up your sleeves, please.”

“I do, I do, I always do.” She repeated like a vow, getting louder each time, and getting up from the bed. “I should’ve used them. On you.”

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